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These perfectly-spiced Sweet Potato Muffins are an easy snack or brunch item everyone will love! Roll in cinnamon sugar or top with mallow bits….either way, you can’t go wrong!!
There’s something about mini muffins that are impossible to resist! Whether it’s Snickerdoodle Muffins or my Pumpkin Churro Mini Muffins….they’re just so cute & easy to eat!
Now, we all love a good pumpkin recipe….but I think it’s time to give sweet potatoes their moment in the spotlight! Sweet potatoes add natural sweetness and moisture to the muffins along with loads of Vitamin A! Let’s get baking!!!
Ingredients Needed
- All-Purpose Flour
- White Sugar – You’ll use this in the batter AND the cinnamon sugar coating
- Brown Sugar – Light or dark brown sugar will work great
- Baking Soda – Double-check the date on your baking soda; it’s the only leavening agent in these muffins and needs to be fresh to work properly!
- Salt
- Ground Cinnamon – Or use half cinnamon and half pumpkin pie spice if you love that flavor!
- Eggs – I use “large” eggs when baking
- Sweet Potato – You can use fresh sweet potatoes (baked or steamed) or a can of sweet potatoes in syrup; more details below
- Applesauce – Plain, unsweetened or cinnamon applesauce will all work
- Butter – I use salted, but unsalted would work great too
How Do I Make Mashed Sweet Potatoes?
If you want the easiest option, go with a can of sweet potatoes! You’ll simply drain the potatoes and mash really well with a potato masher or blend until smooth with an immersion blender or a food processor. These will be a touch sweeter as they’re canned in syrup, so you can decrease the sugar in the recipe by 2 tablespoons if you’d like.
If you’ve got raw sweet potatoes, you can peel and dice them (it’ll take about 2 small to medium sweet potatoes). Next, you’ll place them in a dish with water (just enough to cover them) and bring to a boil. Let boil for 15 minutes or until they fall apart when poked with a fork. Then drain and mash or blend.
You can also use leftover baked sweet potatoes! Simply scoop the orange flesh from the inside of the potato and discard the peels.
How to Make Sweet Potato Muffins
First, you’ll want to get the oven preheated and prepare a mini muffin tin with cooking spray. You can also use a regular sized muffin tin – more information on that below!
Once you have the sweet potatoes pureed, it’s super easy to mix up the batter. Start by whisking the wet ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Then mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and stir just until combined. Over-stirring the batter can cause the gluten to over-develop and result in tough muffins – nobody wants that! 🙂
Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin tin. You’ll want to fill each about 3/4 full. I find it easiest to do with a small cookie scoop to ensure that the muffins are all the same size and are finished baking at the same time.
Bake the muffins! They’re done when the tops are no longer wet as you can see in the photo above.
Once the muffins are done baking, let them cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan. Now you can roll them in cinnamon sugar or leave them plain!
Pro Tip!
If the cinnamon sugar mixture doesn’t seem to stick well, you can brush the tops with melted butter before rolling them in the mixture OR spray with a bit of cooking spray. The cinnamon sugar mixture will “melt” over time, so I recommend waiting until you’re ready to serve them before coating.
Sweet Potato Muffin Variations
These muffins are SO delicious as-is….plain or rolled in cinnamon sugar! But here are a few other options, too!
- Top with Marshmallows! Adding dehydrated marshmallows (Mallow Bits) to the tops of the muffins before baking adds such a fun appearance and gives serious sweet potato casserole vibes!
- Top with Pecan Streusel! Top with some buttery streusel topping before baking for a bit of added crunch. It’s a great flavor combination and is an easy add!
- Keep it Simple with a Powdered Sugar Dusting! Skip the other toppings and coatings and go with a simple sprinkle of powdered sugar. However, remember to wait until you’re ready to serve them or the powdered sugar might melt away…
- Make them Full Size Muffins! Skip the mini muffin pan and use a regular sized pan instead! Simply fill them 2/3 full and bake for 12-15 minutes. This recipe will make 16-18 regular sized muffins.
Other Recipes with Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Brown Sugar
Sweet Potato Hash with Sausage
Sheet Pan Pork Loin & Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole with Pecan Topping
Sweet Potato Muffins
Equipment
- muffin tin (mini or regular)
Ingredients
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/3 cups pureed sweet potato
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 cup butter melted
Cinnamon Sugar Coating (optional)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° and grease mini muffin tins*. (Makes about 48)
- Combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium sized mixing bowl; set aside.1 3/4 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the eggs, sweet potato puree, applesauce, and the melted (and slightly cooled) butter.2 eggs, 1 1/3 cups pureed sweet potato, 1/2 cup applesauce, 1/2 cup butter
- Stir in the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. (Don't overmix; batter will be thick)
- Fill each muffin tin cavity about 3/4 full.
- Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until the a toothpick comes out clean (or with some moist crumbs stuck to it – but no gooey batter).
- Let cool for a couple minutes before removing from the pan; let cool completely.
- Combine the cinnamon and sugar. Roll the mini muffins into the mixture and serve!1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tablespoon ground cinnamon
